What do you want out of life?
Do you dream big or make yourself small?
Do you push through the barriers that block your way, or do you give up?
Writing a book was a challenge. Crowdfunding it was even harder. Now that book is published and I suspect things are going to become even more difficult.
Before my book came out, I asked myself how many copies I’d have to sell to feel like a success. It was hard to arrive at a number, because it’s hard to say how many copies the ‘average’ book sells.
Look it up online if you don’t believe me.
For every book that hits the bestseller lists, there are dozens more that manage three or four figure sales.
My goal was to sell 1,000 copies, or 500 if I was being realistic. But even that number may be too high.
It’s frightening to look at this huge obstacle that has to be scaled, that demands feeding with time and energy and hard work. It demands my dreams.
Over the six years I’ve been working on this book, I’ve experienced rejection many times. I’ve been on the verge of giving up; I’ve had so many moments of realisation where I could suddenly see how hard this was going to be.
And somehow I’ve kept on.
Each time the reality of the situation changes, or becomes clear, I take some time to manage my expectations. I might be despondent for a while and wonder if it’s even worth it. But ultimately, for me, it is.
Maybe I’ll sell a dozen copies of this book, or 100, or 10,000. All I know is success is relative and publishing a book can mean so many different things. This could be the beginning.
I never thought I’d get this far. But maybe I can get a bit further.
Jan Wolfe says
Well, this was on my “to read” list without realising it was yours. I have just downloaded it, and will read it as my next book. My current one is almost finished. This blog entry was a timely one for me!
Amy Lord says
Thanks so much Jan, what a coincidence! I hope you enjoy reading 🙂
Jan Wolfe says
What a brilliant read!!! I have already recommended it to a few people before I was half way through. Not convinced it was good bed time reading, but it certainly captured me – perhaps it was a fictional manifestation of my own fears, but I found it very believable, and definitely gripping.
Amy Lord says
That’s fantastic, thank you Jan, and thanks for taking the time to leave a review, it is very much appreciated! 🙂